


Sacrifices

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Marvel What If's [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Avengers Family, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Heavy Angst, M/M, Mama Bear Stephen Strange, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange Parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: What if Tony weren't the one to snap?
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Marvel What If's [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1519460
Comments: 6
Kudos: 152





	Sacrifices

"I am inevitable."

Tony lifts his arms to show the titan the stones that he had stolen off the gauntlet, but when the expected power doesn't surge through his arm and body, he turns his arm to look at it. He didn't have the stones either. Where had they gone? Tony looks around him thinking he might have dropped them until he catches a glimpse of one floating away out of the corner of his eye. He fully turns his attention to watch where their destination is and his blood freezes when he sees them going toward Stephen.

"Stephen! No! Somebody stop him!" Tony shouts.

Everyone tried too. They tried to run or fly to Stephen, but they were all too late. The stones circled around the sorcerer before melding into the hand of his suit and he gives Thanos the scariest glare anyone had ever seen from him.

"Parents make the sacrifices. Not the children." The sorcerer seethes painfully before mustering the strength to snap.

A bright light covers the battlefield and Tony covers his eyes until it ebbs away and reveals Thanos and his army fading into nothing but dust. His attention quickly turns back to Stephen after a few moments and he flies over in a panic when he finds the sorcerer sitting against some rubble and Peter kneeling next to him. When he arrives, he kneels by Stephen's unharmed side and swallowed back the bile rising in his throat at the sight of burning flesh.

"F-Friday...connect to Victor and get Stephen's vitals." Tony chokes out.  
"...life functions critical Boss." She whispers as Harley lands behind them with a light thunk.  
"Nonono...Mom...you'll be okay. We'll get you help--" Peter cries when Stephen barely manages to mumble out 'cub'.  
Tony gently caresses the untouched side of Stephen's face. "Tesoro, why did you do that?"  
"Kids...need...you." The sorcerer croaks out.  
"No. They need you. We all do. I do." Tony says and frowns when Stephen's breath hitches. "Don't you dare. Stephen, you're not allowed to--"  
"Tony…" The doctor whispers, and slowly lifts his hand to place on the engineer's outstretched arm. "It's okay."

Tony chokes on a sob when Stephen's eyes fall shut and his hand slips from his arm, and Peter sobs when the sorcerer's last breath leaves him. The engineer finally releases his own sobs after pulling Stephen's lifeless body into his arms, and the eerie silence around them broke when Harley fell to his knees.

Everyone knew what had just transpired, and one by one they mirrored Harley's collapse. They all fell to their knees not only because a dear friend had made the ultimate sacrifice, but because that friend meant everything to all of them. They lost a friend...a family member...and most of all, they lost their matriarch.

Mama Bear was gone forever.

It took a lot of effort for a couple of the Avengers to step up and help get Tony and the boys away from Stephen so they could take the sorcerer's body back to the lake house where he would be buried. A funeral was held, and beside the mandatory speeches, everyone was silent. They were silent for a very long time.

Tony and the boys permanently moved to the lake house, and while the boys went mute over Stephen's death, Diana was quiet for _them_. She didn't remember Stephen and that was enough to make Tony locked himself in his lab and cry all over again. His daughter would never get to grow up with her mother and make memories. She would never truly understand why Peter and Harley weren't as bubbly as she heard they were from stories Cassie and the other Avengers told her because they never truly recovered from the loss.

No one did.

Stephen left a hole in everyone's hearts. A hole that may have partially mended for some people but still left a painful scar. Despite the pain though, stories were told when enough time had passed for the initial heartbreak to pass. Memories were laughed over and Tony made sure not to make the same mistake he did after the first snap. He was desperate to keep this family together. A family Stephen helped him bring together.

"Tony." Steve quietly garners the engineer's attention from the grave a couple feet in front of him. "Wanda made dinner. We're all waiting for you."  
"Oh. Sorry. One more minute. I promise." Tony says as he crouches in front of the gravestone. 

Steve nods and walks back into the cabin, and the engineer carefully brushes fallen leaves off of the stone. A little over a year has passed since the second war with Thanos, and Tony constantly found himself at Stephen's grave. Sometimes he talked, and other times he stood in silence. Today was a little bit of both.

"I still think it should have been me." He whispers and watches a blue butterfly flutter over and land on the headstone. "But you were always two steps ahead...and you were right. We'll be okay eventually. So you can rest now."

Tony stands and makes his way back into the house, and as soon as the screen door closes behind him, the butterfly on the stone fades until nothing remains. 

The last of the late Sorcerer Supreme's magical energy was finally gone from the world.


End file.
